Fish problems

[Squiddy]

I went out and bought a Flame Angel on Saturday thinking that it would be a nice, compatible addition to the tank, but instead have been having problems ever since.

I added the Angel on Saturday morning and aside from the initial, expected harassment, he seemed to be swimming around and doing alright. I woke up Sunday morning, and found him hiding in the back corner of the tank with a few Ich spots on his face. I noticed that every time he would try to come out into the open, my Hippo Tang would go after him. I was told to watch the Ich, and if it got any worse, try and get the Angel out of the display tank and treat him. I came home from work today, and found my Coral Beauty lying dead in behind the rocks with most of my hermit crabs crawling around on top of it. I have no idea why he died.. the tank parameters are just fine and I doubt the Flame would have come out of his corner.

I managed to net the Flame Angel out of my main tank and have now have it in a 5 gallon tank filled with display water and with a rock, heater and a powerhead.

Do I need an air rock in the hospital tank? I have the powerhead pointing up at the surface to keep the surface moving but I have heard that adding an air rock can raise the PH significantly.

The Angel is breathing quite hard and won't eat. I added a drop of garlic extreme to the water because that's what the label said to do if the fish isn't eating. I don't know what to do now. I know I need to treat the Angel for the Ich but I still fear the if I put him back in the main tank, he will just end up in the corner again. I can't stand seeing fish like this. :cry:

[scuglass]

maybee reaquascape the tank and allow all the fish a fair chance to find a new territory. (after the flame has recovered of course

[fakename]

I have heard that angels are very sensitive to oxygen levels, that often dip at night. Are you running your skimmer 24/7? Just a thought.....
Aaron

[Squiddy]

Thanks for the replies guys.

My skimmer is on 24/7 so the oxygen level should be pretty constant. Angels are sensitive to low oxygen levels obviously? Should I have an air rock in the hospital tank?

I had planned on re-aquascaping anyways, so I think that would be a good idea.

[OCDP]

If you have sufficient surface agitation it should provide good oxygen exchange. I don't think an air stone would be neccessary, but if you feel you need one, it wouldn't hurt to run one for an hour or so..

[Snappy]

float a basket or something in your tank to protect the fish for a week so the tang will get used to his new buddy and they should be okay.
Works for me.

[Squiddy]

I left him for a couple of hours in the hospital tank and came back and he was lying on his side not really moving. When I turned on the light he started to move a little bit so I decided that I couldn't sleep knowing that he was in that little tank. I found one of those plastic baskets from a salad spinner and tied it to the top of the tank with the angel inside. I hope he makes it. :sad:

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Keeping 2 dwarf angels in the same tank is usually a recipe for trouble. In a large enough tank, where each fish can claim its own territory, it may be possible, but otherwise the fish will not normally get along.

I find for adding new fish, its best to place the new fish in my isolation chamber. The isolation chamber is an enclosure made from eggcrate & zap-strapped together. It allows my new fish to see my old fish & vice versa. At first the old fish will try to attack the newbie through the chamber. After a week, they seem to ignore each other & its then safe to release the newbie.

How's your stocking rate? Fish breathing heavily are usually a sign of high stress & low dissolved oxygen. The stress may be as simple as the new fish disturbing the tank's equilibrium. It may also be the new fish introduced something bad into the tank, such as parasites or gill flukes. Your observations will be needed to diagnose the problem.

Sorry for your loss.

Anthony

[Squiddy]

From what I read, two angels will have a much better chance of getting along if they are different in appearance. I like that eggcrate idea and I think I will try that for future fish. The Coral Beauty seemed totally happy on Saturday and Sunday so it was quite a shock to see him dead yesterday.

Anyways, there is nothing I can do now. I woke up this morning and found the Flame Angel dead in his basket. :cry:

RIP Coral Beauty Angel - 01|23|06
RIP Flame Angel - 01|24|06

[OCDP]

That's too bad.. sorry to hear of your losses.

[danny zubot]

Thats really too bad. I guess my input on what should have been done will come too late.

I have noticed that since my hippo tang has grown so to has its agression towards a bi colored angel I've had for the same amount of time. Anyway, I might have been inclined to keep the angel in the isolation tank and lower the salinity gradually to aid in its breathing. This would have lowered to osmotic imbalance between the fish and the water alowing it to breath easier. Perhaps if ick was a problem a full hyposalinity treatment of your fish couldn't have hurt.

Until next time I guess.